Kazakhstan's time change sparks debate

Tengrinews.kz - The opinion of citizens was not considered when changing the time. This was stated by Majilis deputy Lukbek Tumashinov.
At a plenary session of the Majilis, the deputy addressed the Minister of Trade and Integration, Arman Shakkaliyev. He stated that residents of some regions, including East Kazakhstan, are dissatisfied with the time change.

"All Kazakhstani citizens are affected by the time changes, and I want to ask an uncomfortable question. When we were in the regions, for example, in East Kazakhstan, people raised questions about the petition on time changes, which collected 60,000 signatures. This issue has generated significant interest. As representatives of the Amanat party, we have commitments to the population. Why are we not considering people's opinions on time changes, as we did before when we had summer and winter time?" asked Lukbek Tumashinov.

Arman Shakkaliyev noted that the issue needs to be discussed in the long term.

"I was in East Kazakhstan, and we discussed this issue — the time change. We need to consider these matters in the long term, over 2-3 years. From a healthcare perspective, this issue also needs to be examined; we should extend the discussion," said Shakkaliyev.

The Minister added that Kazakhstan intends to rely on international practices in this part.
Earlier, the Ministry of Culture and Information has clarified that Kazakhstan will not be changing its national emblem due to recent floods affecting several regions.